Self-supporting hosiery



y 1950 H. J. VOGT 2,514,108

SELF-SUPPORTING HOSIERY Filed Aug. 30, 1947 INVENTOR.

Patented July 4, 1950 UNITED PAT OFFICE .SEISFESUBPQRTING: HOSI-ERY HQHI.X J; Vest, ForestHjlls, N Y.

Application-August 30, 1947 SerialNo. 771,474

This invention relates to hosiery for men, women and. children.

At the; present time, thefoot, and leg coverings formen, women, andqchildrengenerally requirean accessory garter device: to: support the same on the leg in: a presentable.manperafand such;- hosierir which has been developed with the: view: of being supported by itself, without; the accessory gartendevice, hasbeen fQund-impracticable, for reasons. to be related.

The rubber button, clasptypeof garterssuch as are suspended from agirdle; orleg; create. a constantstrain. upon. thethreads of the hosiery in a few. concentrated points about the; circumference of the woven handhknow nr as he-g rte hemwhich results in'ruinous'and. costly tears and runs that frequentlycontinue down the: n.- tire length of the stocking. The-wearer is-often embarrassed upon the. spontaneousjopening of a clasp by the same causing the hosiery to be wrinkled, sag or even drop down the leg.

From the standpoint ofsty-le or fashion, an unsightly bump on elevation is usually noticeable when the button clasp-type of garters is. worn beneaththin or clinging clothing, as this type of garter only allows the support of the hosiery at usually two and sometimes three parts of'the circumference, it brings into play torque forces which cause the hosiery to twist on the leg and become crooked. One common type-of hosierycomprises elastic bands or threads secured to or knitted into the hosiery tops during their manufacture. Elastic bands to adequately perform their function as a hose supporter must encircle the leg tightly enough so as to seriously impede and interfere with the normal circulation of blood in the leg and thus render the hosiery uncomfortable and harmful. One must depend entirely upon the tension. of the-.e1astic...to keep. up. thestocking. Because of the natural smoothness. of the knitted material there. is little aidv had as the result of the contact of the material with skin to keep the stocking raised. Other types. of supports have several of the disadvantages above related.

It is accordingly the principal object of the present invention to provide astocking which is entirelyself-supporting and wherein the stocking will be. retained mainly by combined friction and without substantial constricting action of the top band.

It is another object of the present invention to provide. a self-supporting stocking whereinv the stocking will be supported by the natural-gripping action of a. soft, vulcanized latex. rubber, or natural or synthetic. rubber compoundsupon the leg surface.

It is another object of the invention to provide a self-supporting stocking wherein the area of contact of the friction material at the top when 1. 22..24.0.

band is sufiiciently-large or wide enough sowas; not to interfere with the normal circulation of; blood if. slightly stretched whereby to provide-a healthful,-non-shifting and a comfortable sup-. port- Other objects of the present invention are to. provide a self -supporting hose, whichis of simple construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and convenientv to use.

Forother objects and for a better understand-. ing of the invention, reference may be made to the, following detailed description, taken in con nec-tion with the accompanying drawing, in which Figs. 1 to- 3 are perspective views of stockings illustrating respectively the embodiments. Off a selfasupporting; band in three different types of stockings wherein the topretaining band is lo.-. cated either on the thigh, the calf or at the: ankle.

Fig. 4 is a top plan- View of the stocking shown in Fig. 1 and looking into. the interior thereoj and asviewed on line 4.-..4 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 5 to 13 are respectively fragmentary and inner face longitudinal views taken generally on line 5.5, of Fig. 4- hut illustrating different forms of bands wherein only a portion of the entire area of the bandis provided with the friction material and. wherein several designs which do not in any way lack for frictional engagement with the leg, yet at the same time may provide for a saving of material of the band while ex: tending throughout the. full height of the same and providing at the'same time a band which a a ec ra and a i g apneranc in: g... heres sh a lady-t sme tin embodying the featu s ofthc p es n i v ntion.- This. stockin s: fabr cated irom; any f. th fibr s commonlymplo ed. in the manufac u e of to.- siery such as co on. s lk w o L le. ra nnylon, V inv n, or any natural r synthetic i res and; by any; of: the well: know kni in pr cesses- T s hose is indicated at itand 1.1% the 11.511211 seam I'tor-may bev seamless. and a-band l3 formesiawith a double thickness of theknitted; material which is. atthe top of the stocking and adapted to sure round the thigh or upper part of the leg and which has an inner surface [4 of natural vulcanized latex, rubber, natural or synthetic, or wither compounds. formed as coating or by impregnation of the interior surface. The external Surfiace of the bandwi'll be preferably free of the-latex or rubber materials so that the exterior of the stock;- ing will have the usual appearance. interior surface it will supply suflicient gripping action by' its stretchslightly about the leg and as a result of a large. area of frictional contact with the leg. The rubber is worn in contact with the skin of the leg. The usual seam closure as indicated at It will be coated entirely with the latex or rubber material. A preferred way to apply this coating is to place the reversed stocking on a form and dip or spray. If desired, the coating may be supplied by an anodizing procedure, molding or by any other methods used for bonding rubber to fabric. The band formed in this manner provides a desirable method of mechanically supporting the hosiery comfortably 1 and securely, without constriction, because of the natural friction gripping action of the soft, vulcanized latex, rubber, or rubber compounds when in contact with the human skin. The support of the hosiery in this manner is not intended to be accomplished by making the band at 13 less small in diameter than the normal diameter of the unstretched hosiery as manufactured. A certain allowance for stretchability is incorporated in the many knitting processes to enable the diameters of the hosiery tops to accommodate large or small. leg diameters. There will be very little stretch of the band about the leg and this stretch will be within the limits of the textile and the band will be adapted to fit flush with the leg so that practically the entire retaining action elfect is provided by the frictional engagement or the rubber material with the leg surface over a large area upon being fitted flush therewith and without the band being stretched to an extent about the leg whereby to provide an uncomfortable and tight feeling thereover. The hosiery supported in this manner is secure and comfortable and will remain in place without slipping, sagging, wrinkling, dropping or twisting regardless of the torques and forces acting upon the hosiery while on the leg, whether the leg be in motion or at rest. The stocking is supported with equal tension around its entire circumference and any strain on the fibres is equally distributed in an ideal manner throughout the entire top of the hosiery, thereby preventing ruinous and costly runs and thus prolonging the useful life of the hosiery. The hosiery will not cut or bind on the legs about the large circumference thereof or twist on the legs on the small circumference thereof. Once the hosiery is in place and adjusted, no further adjustments throughout the wear of the same is required. The band will not slip or become displaced. Accessory garter devices are dispensed with and the wearer may dispense with the wearing of a corset or girdle with the attached hosiery supporters. If desired, the wearer can still attach the supporters of the corset or girdle to the rubber area to hold down the same without interfering with the positive gripping action of the latex or rubber and with the further advantage that it will not produce a run in the hosiery top. The band has a limitless adjustment feature and permits the hosiery to be moved higher on the leg Without necessitating the folding of the garter hem causing the strain to be placed in the fibres as is customary with ordinary hosiery supporters when the hosiery is too long or the supporter does not provide suificient adjustment for the proper connection of the clasp to the garter hem.

' In Fig. 2, there is shown, .a latex rubber impregnated band H! on the stocking adapted to be retained on the calf of the leg as in the case of a stocking used by men. This stocking is indicated at [9 and has the usual foot portion 2|. Ankle socks can be provided with a band as shown in Fig. 3 and as indicated at 22. In all three cases the stocking or sock will be retained as initially adjusted on the leg. The latex or rubber material may be colored either to match the hosiery shade, or to be adifferentcolor thereby to render'fthelstockingmore acceptable to the trade.

If it is desired to have a, decorative design on the interior of the band without foregoing any of the advantages as above set forth, and to give increased stretch and flexibility of the hosiery top, ventilation and more comfort, only spaced areas of the interior surface of the band will be coated v orimpregnated with the latex or rubber material.

Different designs to match with the different styles of clothing being worn by the wearer and allowing for a greater choice by the individual purchaser, some of these several different designs as shown in' Figures 5 to Bare suggested. In these figures, the coatings are indicated at 23 and these coatings take on different shape but in all instances the coatings will be at both thetop and bottom of the band and extend throughout its entire width either from a' continued area or by a separated and vertically spaced area as shown in Figure 6. Interposed between the coating areas 23 are fabric areas 24. In Figs. 6 and 12, the coated areais continuous throughout the extent of the band whereas in certain of the other figures as in Figs. 5 and '7 the coated area is-broken b the knitted or uncoated areas; 1

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Iclaim: i

1. A stocking of knitted fabric having a top slightly stretchable and flexible band of substantial width, said band having its interior surface coatedwith friction materialadapted to have non-adhesive frictional engagement with the leg flesh whereby to retain-thestocking upon the le of the wearer. t

2. A self-supporting hose formed'of knitted material and having a top band or garter hem thereon of substantial width, said band or. hem having its inner surface coated with soft,-vulcanized, rubber-like material whereby to provide for a non-adhesive frictional engagement of the band with the leg surface of the wearer for the retention of the hose thereupon.

HENRY J. VOGT.

REFERENCES GllTED v UNITED s'rA'r 's PATENTS 7 Number Name Date 375,073 Kayser Dec. 20, 1887 546,420 Dreyfus Sept. 17, 1895 1,357,929 Van I-Ieusen Nov. 2, 1920 1,434,941 Boyd Nov. 7,1922

1,528,882 Kennerly Mar. 10, 1925 2,425,479 LeBlanc Aug. 12, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number 1 Country Date 387,094 GreatBritain Sept. 27, 1932 423,211 Great Britain May 2, 1935 428,447

Great Britain May 9, 1935 

